<font color='black' size='5' face='Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif'><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica; background-color: white;"><font size="6" color="#ff0000"><i><b>Is it sacrilege in the ham-community to issue electronic QSL "cards"?</b></i></font></span>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica; background-color: white;"><font size="6" color="#ff0000"><i><b>John Hung</b></i></font></span>
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<div style="color: black; font-size: 18pt;">Not at all. In fact, it has pretty much gone to no QSL cards at all. It's pretty expensive, considering postage costs.
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<div>What is done now is to upload a copy of your electronic log to a shared server, as does the operator you contacted. Software in the server verifies the callsign and date matches, and I guess fuzzy logic for the frequency and time, since they will not be an exact match. It then issues confirmation that the two stations have made contact. Efficient, but kind of impersonal and sterile. </div>
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<div>About all paper QSL cards are used for are special events, such as the W1E station we had a couple of years ago. In that case, too, generally an 8.5 x 11 inch certificate is issued rather than a QSL card. </div>
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<div>Sometimes newly minted hams also use them. However, when they note the logistic, administrative and cost burden, they generally quickly go the electronic log route, too. </div>
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<div>I suppose one could have a format for a card in 'fillable' PDF and issue that via email, although I have yet to see that done. </div>
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<div>Not much to paper walls with anymore. I guess that is why I still have those I got back in the late 1960's and early 1970's. It is a good excuse for my hoarding, anyway! There are display holders for them if you want them: http://www.qslcardholders.com/</div>
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<div>73</div>
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<div>John...</div>
<div>WB4LNM</div>
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